Class size discrepancy (and JKR's phone)

[justcarol67]

I (Carol) wrote:
(and of course there's the class size
discrepancy between the first two books and OoP, the only books in
which numbers are mentioned, IIRC)

Phil responded: 
Sorry, didn't notice this. Reminder, please?

Carol again:
In SS/PS there are twenty brooms, ten for the Gryffindors and ten for
the Slytherins, in Madam Hooch's flying class (SS 146). In CoS, there
are "about twenty pairs of earmuffs" for the mandrake lesson in
Herbology, which the Gryffindors have with the Hufflepuffs (Am. ed.
91). In PoA there are eight boggarts (plus Harry's and Hermione's,
which weren't demonstrated and not counting Lupin's "silvery-white
orb") in Lupin's first class (Am. ed. 136-38). But in OoP, there
appear to be about thirty students in Umbridge's DADA class, which the
Gryffindors have by themselves. I can't find the page reference I'm
looking for. It's not in "Professor Umbridge," though statements like
"half the class was looking at Hermione" seem to imply that more than,
say, six students are staring at her. (Can someone help me out here?)

There's also JKR's statement in an interview that the student
population at Hogwarts is about 1000 despite the figure of 280
students that we come up with if we compute ten students per house per
year (= 40 students) times seven years (= 280). We all know that JKR
is not particularly strong in math ("maths," if you're British). Don't
get me started on the ages of the Weasley brothers.

But in any case, if you're interested, the Hogwarts FAQ discusses the
debate over the number of students at Hogwarts (without including the
reference I'm looking for because OoP hadn't come out yet!). Here's
the URL to take you directly there:

http://www.hpfgu.org.uk/faq/hogwarts.html

Carol, who wishes she had a photographic memory so it took less time
to look things up!

P.S. Annemehr, the phone has rung three times while I was composing
this message (it takes awhile to look up page numbers, :-)!): at 4:06,
4:15, and 4:21. That JKR! Always calling me when I'm trying to do
"research"! So I closed that window. . . . Seriously, all you have to
do is leave the main page open in another window from the one you're
using, and she'll call. If the site is open anywhere, Peeves will come
and the radio will come on even if you've turned it off, but the phone
will only ring if the site is open to that particular page. C.